Smiling Shadows
by ShadeSniper
Summary: The life of a young Khajiit girl is transformed trough a chance encounter with a man from the thieves guild. Slowly, she descends into a world of crime, theft and larceny.
1. Chapter 1: An opportunity

Chapter one: An opportunity

Our story begins some 10 years after the return of the Dragonborn, in the far north of the province of Skyrim. As you all know, there had been a civil war between the Empire and the Stormcloaks that resulted in the Empire's expulsion from that particular region. Slowly, the already unstable Empire shrunk into its native province of Cyrodill, most of its military losing any significant footholds they had in the neighboring territories. Uprising after uprising had rendered the once-mighty fist of the Empire weak, and slowly, it plunged into an inevitable state of complete chaos. Eventually, The Imperial City, the very heart of the monarchy, burned to the ground as a result of sabotage. Thousands died and almost a million were left homeless. And so the Empire's demise continued until, finally, in E3 455, it dissolved into a series of military holdouts and protected villages.

There hadn't been an Imperial presence in Skyrim for almost a decade now, the entire province run on a series of shaky trading agreements and diplomatic treaties, most of them broken on a daily basis. The different clans and holds warred with each other every single day, the jarls turning a blind eye on the people's suffering. The High King was powerless, the endless conflicts rendering him little more than a simple puppet of the council. He saw the suffering but could not help. The people did not understand. Calls of revolution and abdication came from all across the land. The jarls hated the people and the people hated the jarls. It was simple, yet immensely complicated.

But none of this mattered to the people of the northernmost village in all of Skyrim. They were fairly content with going about their daily business, quietly fishing in the great fjords of the north or silently mining the many deposits of precious metals that lay strewn about. The only time any politics were brought up was when the trading caravans arrived, with news from the south. Even then, almost no-one cared for the rest of the world. The village was warm, they had food and they were fairly happy with their position, or rather, the lack of one. All the villagers were happy, or so it seemed.

All but one, that is. Khanii had been trapped here, as far north as possible, ever since she was born. The poor girl's parents were the only Khajiit farmers in the entire province and they had been living in what she called "frozen hell" for some time now. Her father had escaped the troubled and divided land of Elsweyr when he was a boy. Khanii's grandfather, a master swordsman and smith, was a fervent supporter of the Empire. That was not exactly a good thing in the desert land he called home so, in fear for his own life and the lives of his family, he ran. And, for some reason, he didn't stop running until he reached the most distant and desolate place on Nirn. Even though he was dead for some time now, Khanii hated him.

The lonely girl spent most of her days in the town's tavern, trading what little coin she had for mead and song. Even though she looked happy on the surface, deep inside she yearned for a different life, a life of adventure, danger and excitement. And so, the days passed, the boats came in and out, selling goods from the exotic lands that lay far beyond the confines of the little village. When she was young, Khanii would climb on board the ships, sneak into the cargo bay and simply stare at the wares they brought in. She felt that they had everything you needed and some more. Piles of troll skulls, barrels of dragon ash and other interesting items littered the cramped spaces beneath the wooden decks. Initially, she wanted to become a trader but her father had decided otherwise. If she didn't get out quickly, she knew that her entire life would revolve around fishing, farming and drinking.

That leads us to the faithful day that changed everything. The day that Khanii became a legend, an inspiration to thieves everywhere. It began just like any other day. The hapless girl woke up before sunrise, fed the chickens, tended to the fields and did the rest of her chores. It was hard, unsatisfying work but it had to be done, or otherwise, they would have nothing to eat in the upcoming months. The long hard winter was rolling in, snow falling every single day, all day. The town crier called noon. Fishing boats started pulling in; amidst the smattering of wooden hulls lay her father's vessel, old and proud. Khanii descended from the farm she called home, located on a hill just above the town and strode slowly to the docks. The men already began the unloading process, stacking the crates of fish high. As always, the Khajiit girl leaned onto the trading office, her eyes flying over today's catch. Khanii had not eaten anything the whole day and her stomach gnawed with hunger. She did not want to steal anything from her father so instead, she chose to target one of the other fishing crews.

Slowly, carefully, she went into a crouch and ducked behind a pile of hay. On the other side lay the "Duchess of Korvasluund", the biggest and most heavily manned fishing boat in the village. Its massive crew had been unloading the cargo for several minutes now and already, the crates of brilliant, fresh fish lay neatly stacked on top of each other, every single one of the shiny creatures making Khanii's mouth water. She could hardly wait to dig into one of them. Silently, she emerged from her hiding place, hood draped over her head, a distinct desire for thievery burning in her jade eyes. With a single swift, long-practiced move, she jumped up, sprinted to one of the boxes and snatched a fish. Slowly, she retreated back into her little hole and crouched down again, Khanii's heart beating so heavily that she thought it might jump out of her chest.

After making sure that no-one saw her, she dug in, her teeth greedily tearing into the raw meat. Freshly-caught fish was her favorite and the fact that it had been stolen only made it tastier. When she was done, she went back to her father's boat and helped him unload the rest of the cargo. she spent the next two hours carrying the crates up and down, trough the village and into the farm's storage rooms. More hapless, unrewarding work. Stealing and thievery made her feel alive, it made her feel…wild. Sometimes, she stole coin from the random passer-by's, none of them noticing a damned thing. Khanii had become such a practiced thief that she could steal the key off someone's keyring

With the final box loaded into the farmhouse, Khanii locked the glorified wooden shed, "picked" her pay up and went to the tavern. Khanii knew that path so well that she was sure her feet made grooves in the ground. "The Lucky Sailor" was empty, as usual. A small group of guards was off duty, their rowdy and drunken cries increasing Khanii's lust for mead and maybe, something more. She made her way past the boiling pots and the empty tables, the barmaid greeting her from afar. Without a word, the maid slid a flagon over the counter, comfortably landing it right in Khanii's paws. Khanii left a small pile of gold coins on the wooden surface and walked away. From the corner of her eye, she could see the Nord woman smiling as she collected the gold. Just you smile, thought Khanii, by the end of the night I will steal it back and then double it.

Her table was waiting for her, in the far corner of the wooden shack, empty as usual. With a sigh, she slumped down onto the wooden bench and took a long swig of mead. It warmed and relaxed her, the alcohol rushing through her veins. In her tipsy stupor, she didn't even notice the man who had been sitting across from her, one of his golden teeth glowing from the shadows. Slowly, he leaned forward and tapped Khanii on the shoulder. She jumped slightly.

"Whoa there" said the man calmly, his voice almost a whisper "Didn't mean to startle you"

"Wh…who are you?" asked the frightened girl, her eyes locked on his. Instead of saying anything, the man dropped a paper onto the table and slid it towards the girl, who looked at it sheepishly. Her scared demeanor quickly turned cocky, and she put the flagon onto the table.

"Easy" she said in a thick, Imperial accent "He's so drunk he won't notice a damn thing. I'll meet you outside in a moment."

Khanii turned around and looked at her mark again. He was a tall, moderately muscular man with fair hair, his physique shaking with the waves of drunken laughter. She knew that the guards who came in here after the shift change rarely left sober. For some time now, Khanii had been stealing gold from these mead-loving fools. That gave her confidence that she would never be caught in the act. Most of them were hung-over during the day and not capable of spotting anything, not even the most obvious of things.

Khanii turned around again with more questions than answers but the man had disappeared. His gold tooth was nowhere to be found in the darkness. Perhaps he was still there, without the desire to be seen. No, thought Khanii, not even he's that good. She got out of her seat, her tail swishing behind her as she walked over to her mark. The mead hall consisted of one tall, brightly lit room with a series of furnaces along the middle, effectively dividing the building in half. Thankfully, the other seats had not been occupied so she was free to move around and sneak as she pleased. Khanii stopped for a moment and looked up. The roof was held aloft by a number of webbed and intertwined wooden beams. If she wanted to, she could use her claws to climb up the pillars on the sides and…

Her thought process had been cut short by another burst of drunken laughter, the men's roar booming trough the empty building. She closed her eyes and mapped the room carefully. The most obvious and most dangerous way of stealing the sword was to crouch directly behind the man, out of sight, and take it. That's it, she thought, the man's back would be ample cover. She started walking once again, slower than last time, before crouching down. Carefully, she approached the guard's back and stopped. Standing still for a moment, she probed for any sign of detection, a short gap in the roaring laughter perhaps or a sudden silence.

Nothing.

They were still telling the same dirty jokes. So far so good, she thought. Her dexterous fingers made their way across the sword's sheath.

Rough, battered, cold. Precisely what she expected.

Slowly, she grabbed the sword's handle and pulled, very lightly at first. It came loose, producing no sound what so ever. Another careful tug and it was halfway out. The man moved and she stopped for a moment. Immediately, the guard swung his head backwards and emptied another flagon of mead. Khanii sighed with relief. The blithering idiot saw nothing and heard nothing. Another swift firm tug and the sword popped out. She snatched it by the blade and pulled it inside her coat. The metal was cold against her fur but she did not make a single sound, not even a yelp of surprise.

She turned around and stood up, casually walking over to her table. The men suddenly stopped laughing, something that Khanii immediate notice of. A cold sweat ran down her back.

Oh, no. Not like this.

One man stood up and put his helmet on. Slowly, Khanii turned around, her paw on the handle of the stolen sword, ready to strike.

"Hey, you" Khanii looked up "Yes, I'm talking to you Khajiit"

Dead silence reigned over the mead hall, eyes pointed at Khanii, her brow furrowing, her grasp on the sword tightening. She swore under her breath. Time seemed slowed, everything around her passing through a thick, viscous liquid.

"No lollygagging"

The men erupted into another bout of roaring laughter, all of them patting the one who stood up on the back. Offers of free mead flew around and the fool took every single one of them. Khanii felt relief, her chest muscles loosening up again. She passed her table victoriously, grabbing her mead with her free hand, and downed the entire flagon in one gulp. An explosion of joy and happiness ran through her, the pounding of her heart reminding her that she was alive, now more than ever.

Khanii opened the door and stepped out into the cold polar air. A dark figure stood outside, leaning onto the wooden pillars on the terrace, looking out towards the sea. She tapped him on the back and he jumped slightly. First, he looked at her and noticed her content smile. One side of his mouth sprang up. Secondly, he noticed the small iron sword that she held in her hand, the handle pointed at him. The second corner of his mouth jumped up, revealing a sly, content smile. He was right after all.

"Welcome to the thieves guild"


	2. Chapter 2: Leaving the past behind

Khanii and the mysterious man had been walking through the village for some time now, circling the different districts and areas since they had nothing better to do, both of them perfectly silent. "The Drunken Sailor" was the only bar in town, meaning that they had nowhere else to stop for a drink. That was a problem for Khanii, since she was quite thirsty for answers. Out of nowhere, this man showed up, told her to steal something and then said that she was in the thieves' guild. It was all very confusing but she took the chance anyway. Why? Well, what in Oblivion's name is she going to do if she says no, thought Khanii, I'll be stuck here for the rest of my days.

Eventually, just as they were about to walk out of town, the trembling Khajiit girl stopped the thief for a moment.

"Look, are you asking me to make a choice?" She stuttered through the clatter of her teeth "We can leave tonight, if that's what you're insinuating. But first, I need to get some things from home"

With that, she looked up into the snowstorm, her eyes locked at what she estimated to be the location of the farm. The thief remained silent for some more, his eyes straying onto the dark path into the woods.

"Look, I'll be brief" He said, very quietly, as if he was talking right out of the shadows "Yes, I am asking you to make a choice. Now, do hurry, I'll wait here."

And into the mist she went, her long tail fading in the half-light of the village. The thief simply sat down onto a stone and cast a warmth spell, creating a small, hovering fireball a few inches from the ground. Smart girl, he thought to himself, she'll be a fine addition to our group.

A bit farther away, Khanii was running through the thick blizzard. The warming effects of the mead she had drunk began to fade and she started shivering even more. The house was quiet and dark, most of her family asleep. Father was probably still up, using his natural night vision to read the long hours away. As she wound into the garden, she threw herself into an instinctive crouch, the darkness masking her movements. The only thing she needed to do now was open the front door, get her long fur coat and satchel and then meet the thief at the edge of town.

Deftly, she picked the lock and entered the dark house. In front of her stood the massive, long hallway, its many doors leading to the farm's bedrooms and storage rooms. The second door from the right, the one she had been looking for, was thankfully, unlocked. Inside, a pile of hay stood at the far wall. Beneath it, a single makeshift bed, laid out in the dust and the cold. This is where she had spent most of her life, curled up into a ball, shivering, tears running down her face. To say that her father had not been kind to her would be an understatement. He would do bad things to her, horrible things. Khanii shuddered and crept over to her bed.

Slowly, she stuck her hand into the hay, trying not to rouse anyone and retrieved a single small satchel and a flimsy fur coat. She swung the leather bag over her shoulder and did the same with her coat. In a matter of minutes, Khanii was outside and considerably less cold than before. She had placed that coat there so that she had at least something to cover herself with during the night. Slowly, she turned around and waved goodbye to the only home she had ever known, no matter how cold and terrible it had been.

The thief saw her running so he put his floating flame out and retrieved a map, ready to show her the way to Riften. To his surprise she ran right past him before stopping in the snow only a few feet away. She was laughing like a lunatic and the thief did not know what had just happened. Khanii jumped up and hugged him around the neck as hard as possible before planting a big kiss right on his lips. He stumbled backwards; gob smacked, and composed himself quickly, a stoical expression quickly replacing his initial smile. Khanii was now jumping up and down in front of him, repeating "thank you" over and over again.

Silently, he nodded and went ahead. She followed without protest. Soon, the village was out of sight, a great darkness closing upon the two wanderers, with the thief in the lead and the new recruit trailing close behind. He had cast a light bolt to illuminate the path ahead. It didn't help much since most of the snowdrifts were knee deep and invisible anyway. Eventually, Khanii's elation had been replaced by exhaustion. She had worked hard today and that took its toll. She quickly caught up with the thief and put a hand on his shoulder, out of breath. The man noticed immediately and signaled for her to follow him.

They entered a clearing just a few hundred meters from where they were walking, something that Khanii attributed to the thief's intuition. Slowly, the man put a few heat spells around the camp spot, preparing it for the long night that lay ahead. Then Khanii noticed that they had no tents and therefore, nowhere to sleep. To her surprise, the thief was a skilled magician who used his illusion magic to raise a tent. As usual, without saying a word, he disappeared inside. The girl followed.

The inside seemed to be considerably larger than the outside, consisting out of a single wide room with a proper double bed in the middle. It was warm even though there was no heat source to be found anywhere. Her guide was sitting on the bed, waiting for her to come inside. The moment she entered he walked past her and disappeared trough the flap again. Confused and tired, Khanii took her coat off, put her satchel on the floor and sat onto the bed. While he was outside, she retrieved a dagger from her bag and put it onto the nightstand. She trusted him completely, but still…

Slowly, the thief entered.

"There, I've killed the lights outside" He spoke in a low whisper as usual "Good night"

The candle on the nightstand went out and the room plunged into a comfortable, warm darkness. Khanii shrugged and went to sleep. That night, she slept well, her mind leaping into a series of adventures.

For the first time in years, Khanii woke up after sunrise, the thief nowhere to be found, his side of the bed cold and empty. The girl just lay there for a few minutes, recovering from what she considered to be the best night's sleep she ever had. Beneath her lay a proper, comfortable bed, lined with thick hay and fur and she had no desire to get up immediately. She turned over to her side and saw a note on the thief's side of the bed. She picked it up and read it carefully, her eyes still blurry.

_Went outside to hunt. I'll be back soon. _

_-S_

The signature was a single letter. He was a man who was cheap on words. Maybe his name was short as well? It was quite possible. Eventually, the girl decided to get up and get dressed. A small kettle and some firewood lay in a corner. The message was obvious.

The cool, winter air took her by surprise. Luckily, there was little wind, meaning that starting a fire would be easy. And it was. Soon, the kettle was boiling, the bubbling sounds reminding her of the weekends at home, when her father would make eggs. Khanii quickly dispelled the thoughts of home. She didn't need that place anymore. The thief had returned some time later with two rabbits and some vegetables.

"I won't even ask where you got those" said the girl. The thief smiled softly and started to skin one of the animals with his dagger. They ate the rabbit stew in silence. It was a filling meal and soon enough, they were ready to set off again. After making sure that they erased all their traces, the pair went back to the forest road, with the thief at the front. He kept a brisk pace and at moments, Khanii had trouble keeping up. Her natural agility aided her but still, she frequently found herself flustered and out of breath. A little while later, she got bored so she decided to start a conversation.

"What's your name" She asked in an inquisitive tone

"Solmund" replied the man "Solmund of Yorkisden"

"Why did you pick me?"

The man stopped for a moment. He certainly did expect her to ask that and for some time now, his mind aching to find a satisfying yet moderately mysterious answer. It wasn't the time to tell her everything yet. They would have plenty of time for that in Riften.

"I've been in Korvasluund for some time now. My job is too look for potential guild candidates and, if I find any, to take them back to Riften." He replied in a very neutral tone "I've seen you steal and I was quite impressed, so I decided to approach you directly. You passed the test with flying colors and now I'm taking you to the guild, as promised."

Khanii nodded and they walked on. Soon, they came upon a proper cobblestone road. Solmund packed his map in and stopped to look around. A large mountain range lay to the north, beyond its peaks nothing but the sea. To the south lay the rest of Skyrim, with its vast forests and bustling cities.

"Our best bet would be to wait for a carriage" said Khanii, whose knowledge of travel came from the traders that came into her village.

"You're forgetting one thing, my student" this was the first time he addressed Khanii as student and that made her quite pleased with herself "We're far away from any major trade routes. There is almost no traffic on the roads here. Lucky for us, though. That means no bandits as well"

So, with a whole day ahead, they set off south, towards Windhelm.


	3. Chapter 3: Bright Lights, Big City

The next three days travel was relatively uneventful with the pair settling down into a comfortable routine. Solmund spoke little and slept even less. Whenever Khanii woke up in the middle of the night, he was outside, pacing around, muttering to himself and watching the road, almost as if he was concerned about something. As the sun set on the third day, Winterhold came into view, its ancient stone walls a monument to the very first humans that settled Skyrim. They had descended down to the city by the time the night fell.

There was one problem. It had only one door, and that was the southern one. The only way to access it was to go over the bridge. Khanii couldn't get trough because she was a Khajiit and Solmund would be shot the moment the guards saw him. With a sigh of annoyance, Khanii took the lead and looked for a way over the giant wall. A search revealed nothing, not even a simple drainpipe. And walking around the damn place took hours. After three hours, Khanii had enough. It was dark, cold, and terrible. Suddenly, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She must've walked past the spot a dozen times.

"Give me a boost" She whispered. Solmund did as he was told and went on one knee, his hands intertwined to form a step. Slowly, she backed away from him and stood in a low crouch, readying herself. Just before she sprinted off, she pulled her hood down and readied her dagger. If her calculations were correct, this would be very easy and straight forward. Through the darkness, she could see Solmund's raised brow, a question floating inside his mind.

_What the hell is she up to?_

Without a single word of warning, Khanii sprinted towards him, jumped up on his hands and climbed up the wall. Solmund did not see how, he did not see where and he hardly even noticed when. A very intrigued smile adorned his face. A born thief.

Khanii had seen the rocky steps shimmer in the darkness, her night vision allowing her to spot them with relative ease. It must have been the work of some thief from a distant time. Maybe he had been searching for an entrance to the city as well. Never mind, she told herself, focus. The security perimeter was a mere dozen inches away from her.

With startling ease, she threw herself over the low top of the wall and landed straight into the guarded walkway. Carefully, she looked around to see if anyone noticed her. A single guard stood to her left, just outside her field of vision, leaning over the edge of the wall. Sadly, this one was not drunk. So, she did what she did best. Steal.

Slowly, she walked up behind him and drew her iron dagger in case he turned around. When she was close enough, Khanii put the blade away and got to work on his sword. This man was a rather obvious idiot, the sheath hanging loose and low with his weapon in plain sight. It was outside his area of control anyway, meaning that even if he did turn around and decide to attack, it would be too late. She would snatch it and throw it over the edge of the wall, all the way into the moat down below.

For Khanii, this was the tavern job all over again, only more difficult. He could still scream. As a matter of fact, she knew he would and the only way to stop him was to slit his throat.

Khanii was a thief, not a murderer.

A solution came to her. Instead of stealing his weapon, she would simply remove him all together. The man did not even notice when she stood up. By the time she had her left on his mouth and her right on his belt, it was already too late.

He flew well, Khanii said, under her breath, it's a shame he wasn't born with wings.

Silently, she ran over to the edge and looked down, signaling a very confused Solmund. He shook his head. Khanii sometimes forgot that not everyone was blessed with natural night vision. A torch stood in plain sight, thankfully. She extinguished it and threw it over the wall. Within moments, Solmund had made his to the top, almost missing a few steps on the way. When he saw the guard's shield on the ground, at the spot where he stood mere moments ago, he could not help but laugh. That was what he called a creative approach to thievery.

Before they could gloat any longer, another guard approached, calling for his friend. Khanii was about to re-unite them but Solmund blocked her path with his arm.

"One was enough, we don't need the unwanted attention" even in the darkness, Khanii could see his smug smile "C'mon, there's a guild fence in the Gray Quarter. He's the only tavern owner that'll let us in."

Solmund took the Khajiit girl by her hand and led her into the shadows. Suddenly, he stopped and looked over the edge of the wall, his gaze locked onto the town's rooftops. Without a single warning, he jumped off, sliding a few meters down the slanted, snow-covered surface. His calm demeanor became panicked. Somehow he missed whatever he was looking for and careered towards the roof's edge. Thankfully, he caught the gutter in time and climbed back up. Deftly, he found a small hatch on the roof and disappeared into it. Khanii followed him, carefully, watching her step, trying not to slip. The hatch opened once again, Solmund's smiling face peeking out of the hole. The inside was warm and comfortable, a big furnace burning in the corner of the room.

"What about the innkeeper?" Khanii turned towards the fireplace, seeking warmth "Should we let him know that we're here?"

Solmund shook his head. This room was reserved for the Thieves Guild and, as a result, remained permanently locked. They would leave tomorrow night, as quietly as they arrived, through the roof. A few bottles of ale stood on a shelf, along with a single cask filled with ale. A bunk bed lay ready in the far corner, far from the fireplace. Khanii had some mead and warmed herself on the fire while Solmund sat on the bed in silence, an expression of deep concentration on his face.

"C'mon, have some mead" Said Khanii "You deserve it, after all."

His eyelid twitched and it was obvious that she broke his meditation. Slowly, he got off the bed, walked over to the shelf with the drinks and filled a flagon with mead. Khanii watched him as he sat down and she could swear that there was something affectionate and warm behind his cold, professional eyes. Her mind went into overdrive and she did something that she had never done before. As soon as he made himself comfortable, Khanii put her head on his shoulder and purred softly. Solmund was taken aback by this. As a matter of fact, he was so taken aback by it that he didn't even notice that his arm on her waist.

The next morning was rather uneventful. Khanii woke up to find Solmund on the room, hidden behind the smokestack, watching the streets. Old habits die hard; she thought and got back inside. There was nothing to eat in the room so she decided to fetch some. Deftly, she slipped out the window and climbed over the edge. The street below was empty. With a swift jump, she was on the sidewalk, her eyes scanning the surroundings for any sign of trouble. After she made sure that there was no one around, she tucked her tail into her trousers and went off in search for something edible to steal.

The market was easy to find. It stood in the relative center of the town, just west of the entrance. Security was lax and the only guard was ever so mildly inebriated. The market stalls seemed an easy enough target but Khanii needed a distraction first. She approached the drunken guard, keeping a leisurely pace, and began to talk badly about the elves. This seemed to do the trick. The guard began to shout an assortment of racist insults, most of them aimed at an elf who was minding a general goods stall. The shouting seemed to draw the elf's attention, as well as the attention of other market-goers. A large group surrounded him, shouts of both agreement and negation emanating from the congregation. That gave Khanii plenty of time to look around the wares that stood laid out on the stalls. She took some meat, a few vegetables and a nice glass dagger.

The argument escalated into a proper fist-fight by the time she left, a plethora of screaming and metallic clatter coming from the square. The food she took would last until tonight, when they set off. This time, she entered through the front door. A mild expression of shock appeared on the barkeep's face when she walked in, her tail now swinging around freely. Quickly, she explained her situation to him and the man silently nodded. He retrieved a key and opened the door in the attic, letting her into the small room.

A very annoyed Solmund stood in the middle of it, glaring at her angrily. Upon noticing the vegetables and food she had stolen, he began to laugh heartily.

"I may be repeating myself but you, my dear student, are nothing short of a natural"


End file.
